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My favourite gadget of the year has to be the Asus Eee PC. This has been released in the UK by RM under the label of the RM Asus Minibook.

I have always wanted a wireless laptop that I could carry around with me that wouldnt weigh me down. It didnt need to have a top spec cpu with hundreds of gig of hard disk space. After all its purely to take on holiday or to pull out in an internet cafe to do a spot of browsing the web with firefox, check some emails and perhaps maintain some websites.

I’ve had the pleasure in having a few weeks to play with one of these gadgets. Apparently they have sold out both in the U.K and the U.S. I feel sorry for those that didnt get one in time for xmas

To start lets cover the key win points for this mini-laptop.

SPECIFICATIONS:
900MHz Intel Celeron M; 512MB DDR2 RAM; 2GB or 4GB solid-state flash disk; integrated graphics; 7in 800 x 480 TFT; D-SUB out; integrated high-definition audio; 3 x USB2; 802.11b/g WLAN; SD card reader; 0.3-megapixel webcam; Linux OS; 1yr RTB warranty.

• Low cost. The cheapest model with 2Gb of hard disk space is £169 +vat and carriage coming to approximately £200
• Integrated Wi-fi to allow connectivity to wireless networks
• Integrated Webcam to allow you to record videos or go online and chat to your friends on video
• Integrated Microphone to allow you to record speech and use programs such as skype without need for external mic
• Integrated Speakers to allow you to listen to sound, internet radio etc with no need for external speakers
• Very small. Half the size of a laptop. Roughly the same size as a book
• Pre-installed with Linux and a whole host of applications including Firefox, Skype, Messenger, Mail client, Open Office
• Solid-state disk and lack of moving parts mean the device is fairly shock-proof
• Ability to add SD cards. I have added an 8Gb SD card (to expand the 4Gb disk space to 12Gb for example)
• Ability to add USB 2.0 compatible devices with 3 USB 2.0 ports found on the device. Add external hard disks or external USB sticks for example

As you can see from the illustration above the machine is cute and compact. You can see the Asus minibook here sitting on top of a normal sized Sony Vaio laptop. Look at the size in comparison. Amazing isnt it?.. The weight of the machine is so small that you would hardly notice you were carrying it in your bag (It weighs less than 1Kg). Not like a full blown laptop. The diagram also shows how Asus have managed to integrate microphone, wireless internet, speakers and a webcam into this tiny device. What more could you want..

Asus Minibook on top of a Sony Vaio Laptop

Turning on for the first time

The first thing you notice is the sheer speed that this baby boots up. The machine is up within a few seconds. On first switch on you define a logon name and a password to protect the machine and select your time zone. The machine by default loads into an Easy Mode. This mode is perfect for non-IT literate users or for kids however I wanted to tweak mine and to make it look just like my Linux KDE desktop on my main PC. As well as this I wanted to install all the standard apps I have on my desktop and network tools so I can do pretty much anything when Im connected with my Eee pc outside on the road.

Lets take a look at the Easy Mode first before I convert into my preferred KDE Linux mode

This comprises of several screens.

INTERNET - Comprises of Internet related programs such as skype, messenger, firefox and wi-fi config

WORK - Comprises of work related programs such as Email and Open office for word documents, spreadsheets, pdf

LEARN - Comprises of learning programs such as languages,maths and painting

PLAY - The last section is for programs to play. Sound recorder, webcam, media and games

SETTINGS - This section allows you to configure various aspects of the system

Now this may be fine for people who arent into IT or for kids however I wanted more than this. I wanted a replica of my Linux home machines desktop on my Asus minibook. So after a few tweaks and by converting the machine into Advanced mode I managed to get my machine looking how I wanted it. I have some screenshots below.

KDE style desktop with Launch bar for my programs. Task bar with battery bar and choice of two desktops

Or perhaps this background picture

I also configured my Eee PC to allow me to install any normal Debian based program. So Ive added the normal programs as follows - Putty, telnet , ssh, ftp, AMsn (msn messenger clone with webcam support), GIMP, Thunderbird mail, Filezilla FTP client, VLC media player, XMMS media player, NMAP port scan, dig, GCC to add just a few.

Here is a screen capture with a few apps running on my Eee PC.

File Manager, Firefox, AMsn and a console running on the Eee PC.

To summarize.

Now that I have customized my Eee PC I am very happy with it. I highly recommend everyone gets one. The win points for me are the price (£200) along with the speed and the huge bundle of integrated hardware (webcam, speakers, internal microphone, wireless internet, usb 2.0 connectivity) in such a small box. To top that off its running a good solid Operating system (Linux) out the box and will run a KDE theme and allow you to download new software easily via Synaptic package manager or apt-get on the command line.

YES you can install Windows XP on this laptop. But I dont like XP and cant see any benefit installing such a terrible operating system on this fantastic machine. You can edit word or excel documents on open office and do anything you can do on Windows. So my advice is stick with Linux.

The machine I think is fantastic for people who dont want something thats going to weigh them down and dont need a huge performance machine or vast amounts of disk space. They simply need a machine with a few gig of hard disk space that allows connectivity to the internet when required. Something that isnt going to break the bank. Something thats made by a good manufacturer.

Pull it out at the airport or internet cafe to browse the web, check hotel bookings, email. Ftp on to your works webserver, log on to msn messenger or yahoo and catch up with your friends. Record a video or sound clip and email it to your colleagues. The possibilities are endless. I rate this gadget the best gadget of 2008. You can buy one here.

Happy Christmas Everyone and a happy new year

Asus Minibook Keyboard shot

March 22nd 2008 - Tip of the day

Something Id like to add. If you ever manage to mess up your EEPC / Minibook and find it wont boot up you can fix it by carrying out the following. Dont worry you can fix it in a few seconds.

Hit the power on button and press F9 immediately as your EEPC / Minibook starts up. This will point you to a menu screen giving the option to reset to factory settings. Once you have done this it reverts it back to factory settings and will allow you to boot up again. You will have lose any saved data but at least you have restored your minibook. Nice huh. Saves hours messing around trying to fix it manually.